CEFR levels explained: what A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 and C2 mean

CEFR levels are the most widely used way of describing how well someone uses a language. The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, published by the Council of Europe in 2001, sets out six levels, A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 and C2, and describes each one by what a learner can do. The CEFR is not a test. Exams such as Uzbekistan's Multilevel exam report their results on its scale.

The six CEFR levels at a glance

The six levels form three pairs: basic user (A1 and A2), independent user (B1 and B2) and proficient user (C1 and C2). Here is what each level means in practice, in our own summary of the Council of Europe's descriptions.

A1: Beginner

You can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very simple sentences: introducing yourself, asking where someone lives, ordering a drink. You can take part in a simple conversation if the other person speaks slowly and is ready to help.

A2: Elementary

You can understand sentences about the things that matter in daily life, such as your family, shopping, work and your local area, and you can handle simple, routine exchanges. You can describe your background and your immediate needs in simple terms.

B1: Intermediate

You can understand the main points of clear, standard language on familiar topics such as work, study and free time, and you can deal with most situations while travelling. You can write simple connected text on familiar subjects, describe experiences and plans, and give short reasons for an opinion.

B2: Upper intermediate

You can understand the main ideas of complex texts on both concrete and abstract topics, including discussions in your own field. You can talk with a fluency and spontaneity that make conversation easy for both sides, and write clear, detailed text that explains a point of view with its advantages and disadvantages.

C1: Advanced

You can understand a wide range of long and demanding texts, and recognise meaning that is implied rather than stated. You express yourself fluently without obvious searching for words, use the language flexibly for social, academic and professional purposes, and write well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects.

C2: Proficient

You can understand virtually everything you hear or read with ease, summarise information from different sources into one clear account, and express yourself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, even on complex subjects.

How CEFR levels are used

Because the levels describe abilities rather than test scores, they let exams, courses, universities and employers talk about the same thing. A university may ask for B2, a job for C1, and a course may be written for learners moving from A2 to B1. Many exams report results as a CEFR level, and the major international exams publish how their own scores relate to it.

A level is also a range, not a single point. Two learners at B2 can be at different places within it, which is why the framework's 2020 Companion Volume describes plus levels, such as A2+, B1+ and B2+, between the main ones.

CEFR levels and the Multilevel exam

Uzbekistan's national English exam, the Multilevel exam, uses the CEFR scale directly. Instead of testing you at one level, a single paper climbs through three of them: the Reading paper starts at B1 in Part 1 and rises to C1 in Part 5, and the three Writing tasks are pitched at B1, B2 and C1. Your result is the level your answers reach, B1, B2 or C1, or a result below B1.

That design has a practical consequence. You do not choose a level to sit; you sit the whole paper, and the questions you can answer show where you are. For the part-by-part guide, read The Multilevel exam explained, and for the facts most candidates miss, Seven facts about the CEFR Multilevel exam.

How to find out your level now

The honest way is to sit a paper built on the level descriptions and see how far you get. EngProgress publishes a free CEFR Multilevel practice every day, a full Reading or Writing paper marked with an indicative level and no account needed, and the CEFR Multilevel practice track generates new papers whenever you want one. A self-assessment against the six descriptions above is a useful start too: most learners can place themselves within one level by asking what they can do comfortably, and where they start to struggle.